Long Term Report

Long Term Report
Vargo Triad Alcohol Stove

September 27, 2005

Manufacturer: Vargo Outdoors, LLC
URL: http://www.vargooutdoors.com/
Year of Manufacture: 2004
Listed Weight: 1 ounce/28 grams
Actual Weight: 1.1 ounces/31 grams

Product Description: An alcohol-fueled backpacking stove made from titanium. The body of the stove is a cylinder which measures 0.75 in/1.9 cm in height and just over 2.5 inches across. The top of this cylinder is ringed with small pinholes - the burner holes. The center slopes down into a bowl shape, and in the middle of this bowl (in the center of the stove) is a larger hole (which I will refer to as the fueling hole). Attached at three equidistant points around the outside of the stove are six "legs" - three on the top of the stove, three on the bottom - which fold out to a 45-degree angle and act as stove legs and pot supports. The height of the stove with the legs and pot supports extended is roughly 2.25 in/5.7 cm. The ends of the leg bases/pot supports are just under 3.25 in/8.25 cm apart when fully extended. The stove is actually reversible and designed to be used two ways - when used with the "bowl" side up, it is fueled with denatured alcohol. When it is turned flat-side-up, it is meant to be used with fuel tablets (Esbit or comparable fuels). Please see my Initial Report for an even more detailed description.

Field Conditions: The Triad has been used exclusively in California during the test period. Locations have included the Sierra Nevada, San Gabriel and Santa Ana Mountains, the Mojave desert, and low-elevation forest about 11 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean. Elevations have ranged from 9,834 feet (2997 meters) to as low as 394 feet (120 meters). Conditions ranged from windy and dry to damp and cold. Temperatures from just below freezing to around 85 F (29 C).

Note: A little over two months ago, Vargo sent all of the testers a new stove that was properly sealed. This is in addition to the original stove, which was mistakenly not sealed at all and which Vargo took back in order to apply an external sealant to. The new stove performed just as the repaired stove had. The only difference I could note was that on the newer stove the fold-out legs and pot supports seemed to be much more firmly attached, allowing me to place the pot supports at more varied angles without fear of them collapsing. I have no way of knowing if this is an improvement which will be found on all Triad stoves from now on, or if there are manufacturing variables that create stoves with differing levels of tightness for the joints of the legs and pot supports.

Performance: Even with additional use, with both the repaired stove and the newer replacement, absolutely nothing has changed since I wrote my Field Report. I have exactly the same opinion of the Triad stove, and exactly the same likes and dislikes for it. Rather than re-write entirely what I wrote before, I will simply reinforce my conclusions. Those wishing for more detail can consult the Field Report for anecdotes to put my complaints and compliments in context. None of my trips in the last four months have offered any new revelations about the Triad's performance.

In short, the Triad is a fantastic idea - to improve on the "pop-can" style of alcohol burner by incorporating pot supports and stove legs. But the idea has lost something in the execution. The Triad is a perfectly serviceable stove, and it does just what it is supposed to do. But there are quirks and aggravations to consider, much as there are with any stove. Following is a table of my likes and dislikes, followed by the same design recommendations I made in my Field Report.

Positives

Light
Stable, provided pot diameter is sufficient*
Compact - easily fits in my smallest mug
Easily extinguished
Unused fuel can be salvaged (to a point)
No additional pot stands required (for big enough pots)

Negatives

Wasteful - requires excessive fuel in order to prime
Priming is sometimes very slow (occasionally over three minutes)
Must fill with fuel SLOWLY or risk overflow
Easily extinguished
Unless burned dry, stove body retains fuel & will leak fuel through burner holes
Cookpot must be over 3.75" (9 cm) in diameter*

Changes I'd Like To See

The fuel-tab half of the stove needs either a raised "fence" or an indentation, to keep an Esbit or similar fuel tab from sliding across the surface as it burns. It is currently flat and smooth, so as the outside of the burning tab liquefies, the tab migrates across the stove.

The opening into which fuel is poured could perhaps be enlarged. As it is currently designed, fuel must be poured into the stove slowly or else the stove will overflow. Actually, I'd prefer to see a body design much closer to that used for most "pop-can" stoves - with the fuel well simply a large hole in the middle, surrounded by very small drainage holes to allow fuel inside of the stove walls. This would allow the stove to be used with the minimum amount of fuel necessary for the job at hand, and would eliminate the need to reclaim unused fuel and leave a saturated fabric pad inside (assuming the pad stays as a vital part of the stove design).

Eliminate the pad inside the stove. If the stove is put out, rather than allowed to burn out, the pad retains fuel, which necessitates that the stove be stored either in a zip-close baggie or in some other fluid-proof container. The retained fuel will slowly pool in the bottom of the stove and can actually splash out when the stove is picked up to be packed away. The pad is intended to improve fuel distribution to the burner holes, but based on my experience with other alcohol stove models I'm not convinced this is necessary.

* I hope that Vargo has standardized the tightness of the joints for the legs and pot supports. As I said above in the report, the newer replacement stove has much more firmly tightened joints, allowing me to use smaller-diametered pots with the Triad. As I have no way of knowing if this has been standardized, I'm keeping the note about the pot supports in my final report.

My thanks to BGT and to Vargo for having me participtae in this test.

Tester Name: Colleen Porter
Gender: female
Age: 30
Height: 5'8"/1.73 m
Weight: 142 lb./68 kg
Email address: tarbubble at yahoo dot com
Location: Orange County, CA

Backpacking Experience: I have been hiking for fifteen years, backpacking for eight. I've only been serious about it in the last two and a half years. I mostly hike on established trails – bushwhacking is rarely planned. I like gear to be simple and light, and I do make some of my own equipment. On my own I pack pretty light (about thirteen lbs/6 kilograms base weight) and am always trying to get lighter, but I am often on family trips with my three-year-old son and the weight usually doubles. My 3-season backpacking haunts are the San Gabriels, The Santa Anas, the Sierra Nevada, and the Grand Canyon, and winters find me in the Mojave and Colorado deserts.

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